The old song goes "the best things in life are free".. and the same goes for bikes.
I have had two bikes which I found in the dumpster (rubbish bin here in Australia).
With some time and elbow grease, and sometimes a little bit of money you can restore a bike which was destined for the dump into something that is fast and fun to ride around.
This instructible shows you how to restore a dumpster bike - in this case a 10-speed road/touring bike. These bikes are commonly thrown out, can be converted into a single speed or easily renovated into a working bike.
I have concentrated mainly on providing the resources and hints, rather than the in-depth detail for each section of the bike. The reason for this is that no two bikes are the same and if I go into too much detail for one part (eg. the headset).
I have had two bikes which I found in the dumpster (rubbish bin here in Australia).
With some time and elbow grease, and sometimes a little bit of money you can restore a bike which was destined for the dump into something that is fast and fun to ride around.
This instructible shows you how to restore a dumpster bike - in this case a 10-speed road/touring bike. These bikes are commonly thrown out, can be converted into a single speed or easily renovated into a working bike.
I have concentrated mainly on providing the resources and hints, rather than the in-depth detail for each section of the bike. The reason for this is that no two bikes are the same and if I go into too much detail for one part (eg. the headset).
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Find a bike.
Old bikes that no-one wants are plentiful. They can be left out with the hard rubbish, or people cleaning out thier shed, garage sales or antique / bric-a-brac shops. You may be able to barter for a friend's old bike eg. offer to mow their lawn or babysit.
Decide your reasons for doing this project.
This will save you a lot of time and/or heartache in the long run. Some questions to ask yourself:
Why this bike? Check that the bike you have obtained matches up with how you will ride it. The frame size should fit you comfortably, and the style of bike and your use should be well matched. That being said, I have seen a beach cruiser been ridden in a triathlon before! Lots of people restore these bikes so that they have a cheap commuter that is not likely to get stolen compared to their snazzy carbon tri bike for the weekend. It may be your grandpa's old Cro-Mo racer which you want to restore as a moving heirloom.
What are my constraints? You may be pushed for time / space / money. If you would prefer your leisure time spent riding, then you may be better off buying a new bike. It may be more fun to give the bike to someone once you have finished if you are short on space at home.
What is my budget? Another important question. For a clunky commuter bike, you may just want to clean it up and spray it to protect it from rust. For a vintage pista or road racer, it might be worth spending a little money for a comfortable saddle, clip in pedals and bar grips. The money may be better spent on a new bike!
What is the condition of the bike? This is really important. Check the bike to see that it is in repairable condition. Look for things like cracks in the frame, broken spokes / misaligned wheel rims, dull sound when you hit the frame (structural rust) missing cogs on the derailleur, bent forks, seized crank or headset. All of these things can be fixed, but it may be uneconomical to repair them and the bike just won't be the same as if you waited to pour your energy into a dumpster bike that was a little less 'loved'.
Ok, so you have the bike, you have the money and the vision to complete the project. Let's get started!
Old bikes that no-one wants are plentiful. They can be left out with the hard rubbish, or people cleaning out thier shed, garage sales or antique / bric-a-brac shops. You may be able to barter for a friend's old bike eg. offer to mow their lawn or babysit.
Decide your reasons for doing this project.
This will save you a lot of time and/or heartache in the long run. Some questions to ask yourself:
Why this bike? Check that the bike you have obtained matches up with how you will ride it. The frame size should fit you comfortably, and the style of bike and your use should be well matched. That being said, I have seen a beach cruiser been ridden in a triathlon before! Lots of people restore these bikes so that they have a cheap commuter that is not likely to get stolen compared to their snazzy carbon tri bike for the weekend. It may be your grandpa's old Cro-Mo racer which you want to restore as a moving heirloom.
What are my constraints? You may be pushed for time / space / money. If you would prefer your leisure time spent riding, then you may be better off buying a new bike. It may be more fun to give the bike to someone once you have finished if you are short on space at home.
What is my budget? Another important question. For a clunky commuter bike, you may just want to clean it up and spray it to protect it from rust. For a vintage pista or road racer, it might be worth spending a little money for a comfortable saddle, clip in pedals and bar grips. The money may be better spent on a new bike!
What is the condition of the bike? This is really important. Check the bike to see that it is in repairable condition. Look for things like cracks in the frame, broken spokes / misaligned wheel rims, dull sound when you hit the frame (structural rust) missing cogs on the derailleur, bent forks, seized crank or headset. All of these things can be fixed, but it may be uneconomical to repair them and the bike just won't be the same as if you waited to pour your energy into a dumpster bike that was a little less 'loved'.
Ok, so you have the bike, you have the money and the vision to complete the project. Let's get started!
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Here's a question for you. The 1970's Schwinn Collegiate that I picked up has a Sturmey Archer 3 speed coaster brake (S3C). Do you think it is worth it to try to repair this is or should I replace it? I wanted to keep the bike with its original parts just to keep it nice and vintage, however, I don't feel too safe riding in traffic with it. Just want to get your input.
the dark/light colours are mainly due to my poor photography skills :)
The colour comes up pretty uniform with the rattle can as long as you spend a lot of time shaking it before painting. I put about 7 coats on the bike and it has held up so well, except in spots where there are burrs eg. dropouts.
The main issue with the rattlecan paint is to avoid painting too much in one coat so that it drips.
A powdercoat is better and more durable but can be much more expensive. Given it was a dumpster bike I was balling on a budget :)
The partly assembled bike was to retest the component fit and motivate myself to finish the project.
Good luck with your bike restoration!
Cheers
Otherwise: nice job. :-)
Question - how would you go about fixing the bit of metal that goes inbetween the two chain-stays (close to the bottom bracket)? On the bike I found it's rusted through. Would you just cut it off then weld a new bit of steel pipe on, or just leave it off? It was only a thin bit that was there.
As for painting them, I have rust-colored Rustoleum paint. I've added duct tape to one of the welded joints to let people suspect it is cracked. In bike oriented countries theft is a major problem. It will be here, too.
I am really glad I came across your post. I picked up an old Schwinn that was on a sidewalk w/ a sign that said FREE. I did some simple upgrades like tires and seats but the bike needs a little more TLC to really enjoy a ride. I had been thinking about doing a complete restoration and after reading your post I am more inclined to do so!
he he he.. my grandma's middle name is Bianchi..
In Australia we call the 'adjustable wrench' a 'shifter'. I suppose because it can help 'shift' things that are stuck. The one I bought from bunnings has a tapered handle about 30cm long and can handle a nut up to about 45mm. It's great because you just need a little 'tap' with a piece of wood after WD40 and the nut should come loose.
I like the ides Lynxsys, it would have saved me a lot of elbow grease!
nice bike too Mr. Sanchez..
I stripped and painted it by hand with the rattlecan spray paint and primer. I would have liked to have it sandblasted and powdercoated but the only prices I could get were $300AUD upward in Sydney! In Adelaide it can be done for cheaper about $60-70AUD.
If you want to save money on the powdercoat, and you aren't in a hurry, you can ask the shop to paint your bike whatever colour they next set up with. This saves on the setup cost for you and the shop.
Cheers
Thanks for your help. =)
The rear brake wasn't salvageable as there were no current brake pads that fit it.. The original frame has the geometry set up for touring rather than racing so it had long reach calipers. Even with the 'long reach' calipers I bought they weren't long enough unless I filed into the slots and put the read brake on that side of the bridge.
Very observant of you! The only other person who noticed that was a mate of mine who has been fixing bikes since he was a youngster :)
A few things I'd add:
Some parts are reverse threaded, like the bottom bracket and the pedals.
Some local bike shops will give you old parts from their scrap piles. They LOVE bicycles and are super helpful, don't be afraid to ask
If you do buy new parts online, make sure you're getting the right size. Old french bikes have funny sizes and new parts won't fit.
The sheldon brown website has a ton of info about parts and sizing of older bikes (since these are the types you'll find in the dumpster).
I have a 87 centurion and 80 univega mixte that I rescued, and they are both so much fun to ride, because I restored them myself!
And just so there's no confusion, the RHS pedal is the one you'd place your right foot on to ride :)
BTW - To put this another way, the direction the pedal turns when you are going forward should tighten the bottom bracket! (for obvious reasons)
A question: When you list a "shifter" amongst the requisite tools, do you mean what an American would refer to as an "adjustable wrench," like the one in the attached image (borrowed from Wikimedia)?
And a suggestion: To save yourself some elbow grease (and to avoid removing more metal than necessary), you might consider electrolytic rust removal. Have a glance at ToolNut's excellent Instructable on the topic: http://www.instructables.com/id/Electrolytic-Rust-Removal-aka-Magic/
To work this solution you might need to borrow a kiddie-pool, but it's so darn elegant! It's also the only way that I know of to remove all of the rust from the inside of a bike's frame. I commented on ToolNut's Instructable with a fairly detailed suggestion as to how to do that, and I've reproduced most of that comment below. I hope that it's helpful to someone!
You can de-rust the inside of a bike frame by putting a metal anode in the tubes, surrounded by a perforated insulator to prevent direct contact with the cathode (bike frame).
For the seat-post tube you can use something like a piece of rebar inside a piece of PVC pipe with a lot of holes drilled in the pipe. For tubes like the top tube that are harder to get something into, you'll need something more flexible. An old chunk of steel cable or the jacketing from metal coated electrical cable can work, provided you can find something that's not stainless or galvanized. Then you just need to put your flexible anode inside some old hose with a whole lot of holes cut in it and feed it into the hard-to-reach spots.
I'd also suggest not de-rusting the inside of a frame at the same time as the outside. With the anodes inside the tubes, they're very close to the cathode, and so will slow down the rust-removal from parts that are farther away from their corresponding anodes, like the outside of the frame.
I hope you are not trying to pass that bike off as an actual Bianchi to anyone...